Point pots OT winner as Bolts beat Maple Leafs to force series finale in Toronto

Brayden Point scored at 18:04 of overtime as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 on Thursday to force a seventh and deciding game in their first-round playoff series.

The winger buried the winner on a rebound between the legs of Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell after Alex Killorn took the initial shot.

Ondrej Palat, Anthony Cirelli and Nikita Kucherov had the other goals for the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions, who improved to an eye-popping 17-0 following a post-season loss since 2020.

John Tavares, with two, and Auston Matthews replied for Toronto, which hasn't moved onto the second round since 2004 and is now 0-8 in elimination games over the last five playoffs.

Jack Campbell made 31 saves. William Nylander added two assists.

WATCH | Lightning force decisive Game 7 vs. Leafs following Point's OT winner:

The Leafs will now head home for Saturday's Game 7 desperately looking to exorcise the demons of past spring failures with the weight of history and expectation hanging around their collective neck.

Toronto is 7-2 all-time at home in Game 7s, but lost at Scotiabank Arena last season after blowing a 3-1 series lead against the Montreal Canadiens.

Vasilevskiy has won each and every one of the contests that make up Tampa's 17-0 record after a loss in the last three playoffs, putting up a .945 save percentage with five shutouts in 16 victories before Thursday.

The 2019 Vezina Trophy winner and last season's Conn Smythe Trophy recipient hasn't been his usual stellar self in the series — his save percentage stood at .880 heading into Thursday — but did enough on this night to get his team to Game 7.

Trailing 2-0 in the second period after Cirelli's highlight-reel effort with Tampa